Top Tips and Inspirations for Christmas Market Photography and Instagram

Last Updated on November 9, 2023 by gregor

Christmas markets are all around this December in Vienna. Please find my blog post “Christmas Market Guide in Vienna”.
Not only are they a great place of shopping, a seasonal snack and a good festive time for all the family, they’re also a fantastic photographic and Instagram opportunity. There are Christmas lights, colours and subjects galore. Make sure you take your camera with you and head down to the Vienna Christmas markets; and put these inspirations into practice!

Best Tips and Inspirations for Your Christmas Market Photography and Instagram

Keep movement sharp with a high ISO

The days are short in December, so it’s more than likely you’ll be taking your shots in the dark. Combined with the hustle and bustle of busy markets, this can make keeping your detail sharp somewhat of a challenge. To prevent your shutter speed from becoming too slow and blurring movement in your pics, you need to use a fast ISO setting of around 2500 or higher. If your camera also has Image Stabilization, make sure it’s enabled to help counteract any camera shake.

Shot with Nikon Z 6 Mirrorless Camera , Lens: NIKKOR Z 24–70 mm f/4 S 1/100s f/4.0 ISO 3200 24mm Lightroom Filter used

Isolate festive detail with a shallow depth-of-field

You’ll find plenty of gorgeous detail at any Christmas market. Whether it’s shiny baubles, glittery decorations or glistening treats, they all make superb subjects that capture the spirit of Christmas. To make these items pop out in the frame, it’s best to use a lens that allows you to use a really wide aperture

Shot with Nikon Z 6 Mirrorless Camera , NIKKOR Z 24–70 mm f/4 S 1/250s f/5.6 ISO 200 70mm Lightroom Filter used

Shot with Nikon Z 6 Mirrorless Camera , Lens: NIKKOR Z 24–70 mm f/4 S 1/125s f/4.0 ISO 2500 37mm Lightroom Filter used

Left: Shot with Nikon Z 6 Mirrorless Camera , NIKKOR Z 24–70 mm f/4 S 1/250s f/5.6 ISO 2500 70mm Lightroom Filter used

Right: Shot with Nikon Z 6 Mirrorless Camera , NIKKOR Z 24–70 mm f/4 S 1/250s f/5.6 ISO 2500 70mm Lightroom Filter used

Shoot from the hip for great candid portraits

Christmas markets are the perfect place to capture candid portraits as they are always packed with people. For truly natural results, it’s best to be pretty discreet, so your subject doesn’t react to the camera. To achieve this, try using your camera’s tilt-screen and composing from your waistline so you go unnoticed.

Apply Art Filters to capture the atmosphere

An easy way to inject extra atmosphere into your images is to shoot in black & white. Colour can sometimes be distracting, and so an absence of colour helps the viewer to concentrate on the subject and the atmosphere of an image – so try out the Art Filters available in your camera menu. It can feel more raw and more real, and adds a timeless and elegant feel to a photograph. To add more drama to your scene, try underexposing by adding -1.0 stop of exposure compensation.

Shot with Nikon Z 6 Mirrorless Camera , Lens: NIKKOR Z 24–70 mm f/4 S 1/100s f/4.0 ISO 3200 27mm Lightroom Filter used

Use a manual White Balance for warmer tones

The glow of Christmas lanterns and candles makes for a wonderfully warm light, which contrasts perfectly with the cooler winter sky. You can enhance these warm tones by setting the White Balance manually and emphasizing the golden glow. Use Live View, as you adjust the Kelvin setting, to get the perfect White Balance.

Top10ViennaPhotoInstagramNikon_theviennablog

Shot with Nikon Z 6 Mirrorless Camera , Lens: NIKKOR Z 24–70 mm f/4 S 1/100s f/4.0 ISO 3200 24mm Lightroom Filter used

Keep your camera steady and blur movement

With lots of fairground rides and rushing crowds, there’s lots of opportunity for capturing an artistic motion blur. You’ll need to use a slower shutter speed, to render any movement as pleasing streaks and smudges. To avoid risk of camera shake, you’ll also need to use a tripod, or carefully rest your camera on railings or a table top. Set a 2sec self-timer, so pressing the shutter button doesn’t jolt your shot!